Heidelberg Twp. supervisors approve changes for municipal building project

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Heidelberg Township supervisors on Feb. 24 unanimously approved a variety of change orders totaling over $37,000 for interior work at the municipal offices.  

The $37,324.04 approved was for two contractors involved with the project, including general contractor Woodland Contractors, which is based in Avon.

The primary big-ticket change orders were for new interior windows/window casings and drywall installation, which, with a few minor change orders, totaled $26,644.04. 

Another approved change was for demolition of portions of the ductwork in the HVAC system, also to be handled by Woodland Contractors, for $6,480. An additional $4,200, which was not part of the change orders, was approved to be paid to Myerstown-based Fox & Long for removal of the hot water baseboard, which has to occur for other demolition work to occur.

In a separate action item, supervisors unanimously agreed to provide an interior remodel time extension of 30 days to Woodland Contractors. 

Jen Snyder, township manager, said the project was originally set for completion by May 1, and the granted time extension moves the date to May 31.  

Supervisor Ivan Martin, who was also voted 2-0 to serve as the township liaison through the balance of this project, said the original plan was to remove paneling from the walls and then skim nail holes. (He abstained from voting for himself to be liaison at the recommendation of township solicitor Paul Bametzreider.)

An issue, however, was encountered that prohibits panel removal.   

“The problem is the paneling is glued on,” Martin said. “If you have any familiarity, redoing the wall that has clumps of glue on with the skim coat, it ain’t gonna work. So they’re proposing to overlay the walls with quarter-inch drywall to remedy that problem, which is the right way to do it.”

A similar issue was encountered in the hallway, too.

“In the vestibule, there was a discrepancy in the engineers, architects, documents where it called for an acoustical ceiling, and there’s no room there to do that. It’s best just to, again, cover that old plaster with a quarter-inch drywall and cover that,” Martin added.

The window change order will enhance safety. The original design would have prevented township staff from seeing from their offices who was entering the building.

“One of the changes that came up was the windows. When you walk into the vestibule, the way the windows were laid out, you couldn’t see from the office out into the vestibule at all. So that’s one piece of this,” Martin said, adding the windows will now wrap-around to allow vestibule viewing. “The other thing was those windows were specced as slider windows that you can open. If you get around to the municipalities, they’re solid windows with a passor (restrictor) underneath for the purpose of safety.”

Chairman Paul Fetter asked for the original general contractor contracted amount, and was told it was $217,000. He said he was concerned about unforeseen costs that are driving up the project’s price tag and delaying its completion.

“Are we going to be in a situation where this should have been included in bidding and now this would throw the bids out of order here? Does that increase to the point where we need to rebid something?” Fetter asked.

Bametzreider said there’s a certain percentage, which he believes is around 50%. that would require addressing the contract price, “but it doesn’t sound to me like you’re getting there.” Martin said the change orders for Woodland constitute a “little over 10%” of the original contract. 

“Off the top of my head, I can’t remember the exact amount, but it’s definitely more than 10%. It’s closer to 50% before you have to go and rebid that,” added Bametzreider.

One other action item for the remodel project involved approval of an addendum to change all of the contractor paperwork from the township’s former engineering firm Hanover Engineering Associates Inc. to David Miller Associates (DMA).

Township engineer fee schedule

Township resident Tim Hoffman asked supervisors if a fee schedule has been created following DMA’s hiring in January as the township’s new engineering firm. 

Minutes of the Jan. 5 reorganization meeting showed that a motion by Fetter to reappoint former engineer Bob Lynn of Hanover Engineer Associates was not seconded. Supervisors Ivan Martin and Steve Martin voted to appoint Scott Hain of DMA as township engineer, with Fetter opposed.

DMA engineer Nick Ebersole responded that his firm has a fee schedule that would have been provided as part of the hiring process.  

“It would have laid out time for engineering and time as the zoning officer. So those rates would be outlined in there if that’s what you’re asking. That would have been provided when we were asked to take on that role,” Ebersole said. 

Hoffman asked if the fee schedule was reviewed and approved by the township solicitor.

“I don’t typically review schedules of that sort, but the board would review and approve it. And I’m assuming it’s been submitted. And as part of the motion to appoint your firm, that fee schedule, at least implicitly, was approved,” Bametzreider said. 

Hoffman was told he would be provided with a copy of the firm’s fee schedule the next day. Snyder confirmed to LebTown on Wednesday that a fee schedule was provided.

2025 Pennsylvania State Police activity report

Sgt. Robert Maher, PSP-Jonestown barracks, provided an overview of PSP activity within the municipality in 2025.

“There were 335 calls for incidents, a little less than a call a day, which was just really good for you guys,” Maher said. “There is a slight increase from last year, you had 281. So it was a 18% increase.”

There was a reason for more calls in 2025 than in 2024.

“However, we did add a bunch of patrol checks, security checks for schools, and you had some issues with some traffic, and we had some calls for the citizens to add some patrol checks. So anytime you have a complaint, I encourage you to call the station, whether it’s a stop sign, speeding, noise complaint, stuff like that, call the station, and we add patrol checks.”

The patrol checks are what he believes led to the call increase this year. 

“Also, your total criminal offenses spiked a little bit this year. You had 60 for the whole year. Last year, you had 47. The spike was in property crimes. So, you know, smash down (mail) boxes, stuff like that. Your criminal mischief,” added Maher.

There were 65 vehicle crashes, which was down from 71, or an 8% decrease over 2024. “So, all in all, the township’s crime and police volume is pretty low,” Maher said. 

PSP also responded to 17 welfare checks, which he said typically involve senior citizens and children. 

“You can call our station for those kinds of calls as well. We don’t just handle crimes, we handle calls like that. So if you have a concern about a neighbor or a child or an elderly individual, we’ll go check on them,” said Maher. 

Fetter thanked the department on behalf of the township.

“On behalf of the board and the community, I want to express my appreciation to the board for their service here to the community. Every time that we need any assistance, you’re willing to help or get there as quickly as you can. I understand there’s some travel time involved,” Fetter said, before offering the PSP office space once the municipal building renovations are completed this spring. 

Other township business

In other business, supervisors voted unanimously to:

• Advertise a proposed ordinance increasing the supervisors’ salary from $1,875 to $3,145, which is permitted under state law. An ordinance would have to be passed, and it will be included on the March meeting agenda. Under Pennsylvania law, salary increases would not take effect until after the next election for each official and officials do not need to accept salary increases.
• Table discussion about the Juliada abandoned water apparatus until March.
• Approve the minutes of their Jan. 27 meeting.
• Agree to pay monthly bills, including the sewer and water invoices. It was noted that the water bill totaled $134,134.06. 
• Grant the Musser lot add-on time extension.
• Provide a time extension for the Holzman McQuate land development project.
• Appoint township resident Jean Rowe to the Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority board.  
• Purchase road salt through the state’s COSTARS program at a cost of $92 per ton.
• Hire Greg Hackman as a seasonal CDL driver for snow removal.
• Donate $250 for the America250 parade in Jonestown on Friday, July 3. 
• Permit ELCO Youth Sports to use the baseball field.
• Send a grant application to the Lebanon County Conservation District for a dirt and gravel project on Greble Road.
• Reduce the Lebanon Valley Produce Auction’s escrow account from $7,213.18 to zero, which effectively brings the project to an end. 

An executive session was held after the meeting to discuss personnel and litigation matters. 

Next meeting

Heidelberg Township supervisors meet the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Due to renovations at the township building, meetings are being held at Schaefferstown Fire Hall, 200 N. Locust St. Meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.